Finding new ways to shop secondhand is more than a thrill for me, it’s a necessity! Living in New Jersey with only one car (ack never thought I’d say those words) means I’m not able to run to the store whenever I need something. It also means no more strolling through the local thrift shops in search of that special new-to-me treasure. That’s the thing about thrifting, you have to be consistent to find the best bits. However being carless isn’t the end of the world when everything we need can be bought online & delivered to my front door, even second-hand clothes!
Wait what you cry, thrifting online? Well yes as a matter of fact & boy is it fun! I mean, rummaging through thousands of pre-loved clothes sitting comfortably in my p.j’s with a glass of prosecco…. erm what’s not to love? It could possibly be my perfect night in. I’ve even worked out a system to find exactly what I’m searching for as quickly as possible. Who’s up for that?
Recently I was introduced to ThredUp & I’ve quite literally fallen down a rabbit hole. It’s bloody awesome! Hopefully, you can see the excellent condition of every piece I’m wearing in today’s outfit. It’s all from ThredUp except for my sunnies (TJMaxx similar) & the vintage Chanel necklace (Vestiaire Collective similar). I experimented with many formula’s before getting it right so I’m convinced this is by far the best way. Of course, you can click-through random categories although I’d bet money on you not finding what you want. This site is huge & could easily become boring if you don’t know what you’re looking for. My main piece of advice is know what you want before you start. If you’re not sure, have a look through your wardrobe to get a picture of what you need, what’s lacking or what needs replacing. This is important information for curating your closet wisely. Lists are good too. You don’t have to buy it all at once, I put a list together at the beginning of every year that I tick through over time. Some things I never get, or they carry over to the following year. Other’s I find by accident, the point is to plan the content of your closet.
What I love most about ThredUp is the quality of these items. ThredUp has an incredibly strict quality control which makes it better than eBay. Surprisingly the average price point is still very low & which gives it the edge over other consignment websites.
For me, the sweet spot is the middle range. By that, I mean high-end high street labels or the diffusion line of luxury designer. This is where you’ll get the most bang for your buck & my outfit today is the perfect example. Let’s walk through that first, shall we?
- TOP – Diane von Furstenburg estimated retail $245, paid $44.99 | DVF is timeless designer famous for the wrap dress. You’ll find a lot of affordable classics in this range but be careful of sizing. It comes up very small, my top is a US10.
- JEANS – J Crew estimated retail $125, paid $20.99 | This brand is ubiquitous on ThredUp however I only like certain pieces from its upper-end price bracket. This pair of jeans was unworn & brand new. A perfect fit that I’ll wear all year.
- SHOES – Castaner estimated retail $208, paid $52.99 | As a big fan of the espadrille, Castaner is at the top of my wish list so this pair was a super find.
- BAG – Cappelli estimate retail $45, paid $22.99 | Basket bags are big right now. I love that this one looks vintage & unique.
TOTAL PRICE ON THREDUP – $141.96 minus the new customer 20% discount = $113.56
ESTIMATED RETAIL SAVING – $509
SHOP SMART, SHOP SECONDHAND
Here’s the thing I love about secondhand, it’s the ultimate buzz. It’s eco-bargain hunting! When you find your favourite high street brand for a tenth of its original price you’re simultaneously reducing landfill it’s a win-win! You win & the planet wins, this is being a conscious consumer.
Secondhand shopping is not only brilliant for me it’s also great for the kids. In fact, it’s even better for them when you think about it. Children tend to outgrow their clothes before they’re anywhere near worn out. This is why I’ve always bought pre-loved clothes & shoes for the Devil’s Spawn. There is absolutely no way I’m spending $50 on a pair of shoes for the kid to get maybe three months of wear out of them. The only new shoes I’ve ever bought my children were either drastically marked down on sale or rubber flip-flops & that includes school shoes. I’m not being funny but school shoes are stupidly expensive, you can easily pay £60 for a good quality pair. Not me though, I’ve always bought school shoes second-hand from eBay. I mean just take a look at the amazing condition of these. The only catch is knowing their correct size but there is a sneaky trick for that. Simply take your children to the shoe shop & have their foot measured or just try on a pair! Then it’s only a matter of searching the same brand on eBay. When my kids wore a school uniform back in the U.K I always bought their Clarks school shoes that way. Of course now in America they don’t wear a uniform although they still wear shoes obviously, I’ll do the same thing with regular shoes.
Now if you’re worried about your children looking like the cast of Oliver in scrappy secondhand clothes, think again. My kids have had some gorgeous pre-loved outfits from the likes of Boden & No Added Sugar. Sure I paid a little more for those brands but it’s still a fraction of the retail price & the top quality means they go on to dress our younger family & friends for years to come. Yep, that’s right, you can dress little Portia in Prada too if you so desire. This way is ethical & guilt-free…
Still not convinced? Granted there’s a certain stigma attached to buying what is essentially used clothing. I have to confess when Kiara was little I deliberately kept it quiet. I knew some people would judge me & I didn’t feel like justifying why I bought my baby used clothing. So I do get it. Although I soon GOT OVER MYSELF & stopped caring what other people think of such superficial things. And you know what? I’ve even managed to change a few of those opinions too.
In any case, times have changed and more women are waking up to the damage fashion is doing to the planet. Shopping secondhand for our kids reduces consumption & waste. Thankfully the ick mentality is changing, these days it’s not only MT & SJP who dress their kids in secondhand clothes.
HOW TO GET THE BEST FROM THREDUP
O.K here’s how I narrow down my search without missing any potential winners.
- In the search bar type only the generic name of the item you’re looking for e.g. JEANS
- On the left, in the sidebar of “categories” click on that item again – JEANS
- Scroll down to pant cut & click the styles you like e.g. FLARED LEG, WIDE LEG, BOOT CUT
- Tick the box “In someone’s cart” because that changes every 24hrs & you don’t want to miss something really great. If you do find something you love in someone’s cart make sure to create an alert. That’s how I got this top.
- SIZE – Here I check each box that describes my size that way I get every possible sizing option. Some brands use different systems & have different measurements so even go a size up & down if you want to catch everything. e.g. SM, 6, 8, 27waist.
- You can choose your favourite brands in the next list but I like to keep my options open here.
- Next is the colour which I think is really important when creating a specific outfit. Today I definitely wanted white jeans so I clicked white to narrow the selection right down. It’s worth noting, I did not get the same terrific results when I entered WHITE JEANS in the main search bar.
- Lastly, I checked the rise I wanted – HIGH, MID RISE
- You can also check a specific condition NEW WITH TAGS, LIKE NEW, GENTLY USED, SIGNS OF WEAR – In my opinion, this is a step too far & really limits the results. To be honest there’s really no need to click anything here since it’s all in pretty good nick. It’s best to wait until you go through each item & decide at the end. It might be something you can live with if you adore the piece.
*This is how the searched page looks at the end
WHAT TO DO WHEN THE PROVERBIAL SHOE IS ON THE OTHER FOOT?
Buying great quality yet cheap secondhand is brilliant for the buyer but perhaps not so wonderful for the seller?
When you sell through ThredUp there are strict requirements for your clothing to pass before they’ll post it online. That’s great right? Well it is however there’s a catch & that’s your cut. It’s fair to say that when my clothes or shoes are in pristine condition I expect to make some money from selling them. So how can ThredUp also make a decent profit when their re-sale prices are so low? Let’s not forget this is a business, not a charity which ThredUp is not claiming to be. Yes, they give away clothes that don’t pass quality control but that’s a byproduct, not the goal.
Therefore in the name of research I’ve decided to do a bit of a closet clear out. Give me a couple of weeks to get sorted & report back to you. We want to know exactly what is involved in selling on ThredUp. Will it be worthwhile, who knows? There’s only one way to find out!
Comments ( 23 )
Lazy Daisy Jones
Michelle you are so clever at this thrifty stuff !
When I was a regular NYC visitor we used to hit up century 21, you paid per carrier bag, is that place still going ??
Meet you there beautiful
Xxxx
carol
Founded in 1902, Goodwill Industries International is, in fact, a nonprofit organization, and the money its thrift stores make goes towards community programs like job training, placement services, and classes for people who have disabilities or are otherwise challenged in finding traditional employment. In 2016, more than 35 million people used the nonprofit’s in-person and online services to further their careers or manage their money. I don’t work for them but I DO shop their thrift store.
MT
Hi Carol, I read that too but I also read as many articles stating that most of the Goodwill profits go to it’s CEO & board memebers these days. It appears there’s quite a lot of conflicting information about the company getting around. Since I’m not 100% sure on the true facts I think it’s only fair to remove that sentence from my post. At least until I can find a definitive answer one way or the other. Thank you for bringing this to my attention x
Amanda Vaughn
This is such a great post! I can’t wait to check out this site. I think the hunt is the best part. Thanks so much for sharing all your tips for streamlining the shopping process.
MT
You’re welcome Amanda, I agree about the hunt too 😉 xx
Fatima Truscott
Great post! I hear you about the stigma but each to their own. I love thrift and I am so going to try your ebay Clarks tip. My eldest school shoes now cost £95GBP!!!!! And the 7yo – £45!!!! Xx
MT
Wahhhhh are you kidding me! Geez they’ve certainly gone up since I last looked that’s crippling, pardon the pun xx
The Sequinist
Such a great post, MT. I’m off to explore their website, and I’m keen to hear how you get on with selling through them. I have several things that I would like to sell on.
MT
Well here’s the thing Lisa, I realised after lugging my entire wardrobe over from England that there are quite a few pieces I’m finished with. I think sometimes it’s best to move on, you know when you’ll never wear something again don’t you? Anyway it turns out I easily filled the ThreduP bag so it’s just a matter of wait & see now xx
Rozanne
You know I am completely on board with this Michelle! Second-hand shopping has become my passion, the buzz is that much better when you know you are benefiting the environment AND getting your hands on something more unique. As an unexpected fringe benefit, I find that vintage clothes in particular are often cut better for curvier bods like mine. I have a fabulous 1960s beige, belted mac that is a far more flattering cut for my busty frame than the modern-day trench coats, which make me look brick-shaped. Great post, shows how easy it is to shop chic when you buy second-hand. Useful tips on how to search too! X
MT
Oh blimey yep I totally agree about the buzz Rozanne. That’s a good point about the cut of vintage & well done on finding the Mac! I was actually thinking yesterday how boring it is to shop every day. Why do women do it? I love clothes but going into Zara or Topshop every week for a new dress is not my idea of fun, quite the opposite in fact. I never was a shopaholic or needed to spend money to make myself feel good, I use alcohol for that! 😉 xx
No Fear of Fashion
I think you had great finds! But well… this is an American site. Not good for me over here in The Netherlands.. Your tip about the UK brand DAI in the other post, is great though.
When you do have the car you might go to an estate sale. They have those in the USA and I would love to go treasure hunting at an estate sale.
And may I say, I still have to fill in all my details before I can comment? With each comment. Is that just me and my iPad? Or is that due to the site construction? I have this problem with several sites, but not with all of them. So I don’t think it is a cookie problem at my end.
Greetje
No Fear of Fashion
Just went to a blog I am following for years, my details were prefilled, then I went to a previous post on the same blog and all of a sudden all the prefilled details were gone. So it probably is me.. aaagghh.
Greetje
MT
Oh really? I wonder why though? I’ll still check my end just in case it’s my plug in. I added an extra plugin so commentators don’t receive every reply from every comment, just when there’s a reply to theirs. I find that a bit spammy myself. Perhaps my plugin needs updating? I’ll let you know if I discover anything.
No FeaR of Fashion
Loads of comment boxes do not prefill anymore. It must be the GDPR measures. I have just found another IT support, a woman, and I will ask her to dive into the atrange qorld of commenting. By the way I never receive your reply in my mailbox. Always go back to your posts. You set it by default (replies to my comment), but I don’t get it. It stopped with my plug-in as well. It would be OK with Disqus and such but not everybody is subscribed to these services.
Greetje
MT
WHAT??? OMG! This is not good at all, thank you so much for alerting me Greetje, I had no idea. This might also be the plugin that’s been upsetting my blog lately. Blimey I need to disable it asap. The trouble is when I disable the comment plugin I need something to replace it and I’m not keen on Disquis because, as you say, it’s subscribtion. I’ll have to check it out before I do it. Ack what a pain.
MT
Oh yes Estate sales sound awesome, I’ll do that at some point!
Regarding the comments box, no you shouldn’t have to do that Greetje, how annoying. I’m so sorry let me look into that & get back to you?
Rhiannon Duffin
I really need to be doing more of this Chelle – Especially eco shopping! You’re such a great role model xoxo
MT
Thank you darling friend xxx
Eleanor O’Neill
Ah such a good post – every so needs to know about thrifting online! I’ve also fairly recently discovered it myself (except eBay of course but it feels like and entirely different thing….) I’ve bought a few things from The Real Real recently – a pair of embroidered Manolos that went to EVERY wedding this summer were such a good buy. It’s not the best if you need something fast, but if you’re a planner – which I totally am – there are amazing things out there if you’re willing to look!
MT
Oooh those Manolos sound lovely Eleanor! I think planning is a good point because that is basically what you’re doing when you curate your closet. So inevitably you won’t need to buy something fast because everything you need will already be in your collection. I think buying new pieces is just filling a specific gap or updating a particular style you love. For me it’s never a need as such, more a want. Does that make sense? And by the way, I love The Real Real!
cecileparis
Hi Michelle! I know, I’m kind of late to join the conversion… anyway considering that’s a timeless one, here I am 😉 First I couldn’t agree more with what you’ve wrote. Since my 20’s I always been a big fan of second hand and vintage buyings…No websites at this time… only second hand stores or Les Puces…and I really enjoyed the “Garage sale” concept that I discovered when I was au Pair in San Francisco. To share my more recent experience, I often sale (and buy of course) items on Vestiaire Collective. They have pretty high commissions but so far I always sold everything I wanted to… Wish you very Happy Holidays Michelle!
MT
Ah yes back in the days before the internet, I was scouring Portabello and Spitalfield markets in London! I think I prefer the convenience of seconhand shopping online now though. It’s interesting you like Vestiaire for selling, I haven’t tried them for selling only buying. I might give them a go next time, thanks for the tip Cecile 😉
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! xxx